Vermont wind turbines harm property values

This letter is in response to realtor Paul Martin’s letter to the editor regarding the impact of turbines on the value of neighbor’s properties.

Mr. Martin left out some very crucial information in his statistics of sales of homes here on Georgia Mountain.

Simply saying that they are on Georgia Mountain Road is not sufficient. How far from the wind project are they? Where are they in relation to the project, such as are they upwind or downwind? What is the elevation difference in relation to the project? Are they shielded by several thousand feet of forest from the turbines, or are they open to the project? How many realtors were those properties listed with before they were sold, and how long for each one?

We live on Georgia Mountain and are approximately 3,700 feet from the turbines. The following are some very specific examples of circumstances of home sales by neighbors close to us:

– The farm up the road is approximately 3,820 feet from the project. It is located to the east, closest in elevation of all the neighbors and it’s a wide-open shot to the turbines.

It was on the market for five years (much of that while the wind project was in the permitting process) and they had four different realtors trying to sell it. Over the course of those five years they had several interested buyers who backed out when they found out about the proposed project. They told us that they finally ended up selling to the wind developer for about half of the appraised value.

– The neighbor down the hill next to us is approximately 3,980 feet from the project. Their home is located to the northeast of the project, downhill and downwind. The house is somewhat shielded by forest, but their barn and much of their property opens to the turbines. The town of Georgia dropped their property assessment by 8%, specifically stating the noise from the turbines as the reason for the drop in value. They had their home on the market for two years off and on and had two realtors trying to sell it for them.

– Another neighbor down the hill is approximately 4,390 feet from the project. Their home is located to the northeast of the project, downhill and downwind. The house and all of the property is shielded by forest. This house was on the market off and on for two years and at least two realtors tried to sell it.

– We are approximately 3700’ from the turbines. Our home is located to the northeast of the turbines, slightly downhill and downwind. We have an open shot to the turbines. The town of Georgia has dropped our assessment by 12%, specifically stating the noise from the turbines for the reason of drop in value.

– Our neighbor across the road is approximately 3,400 feet from the turbines. His home is located more northerly of the turbines, slightly downhill and downwind. He has an open shot to the turbines. The town of Georgia has dropped his assessment by 15%, specifically stating the noise from the turbines for the reason of drop in value.

The neighbors in Swanton will be just over 2,000 feet to the proposed turbines, which is more than 1,000’ closer to the project than any homes on Georgia Mountain. The proposed turbines in Swanton are also nearly 60’ taller than the ones here. So I think it’s safe to say that they have a very valid reason to be worried about their property values.

Melodie McLane, neighbor of Georgia Mountain Wind project